Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu used a memorial lecture for former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in New Delhi on 15 July to question the current political dispute over promoting Hindi. Naidu noted that Rao, remembered as a scholar and reformist leader, was fluent in 17 languages and said contemporary debates about whether Indians should study Hindi underestimate the value of multilingualism. Naidu’s intervention comes amid periodic tensions between states and the federal government over language policy, including criticism from southern leaders that mandating Hindi would disadvantage non-Hindi speakers. By invoking Rao’s linguistic abilities, the chief minister called for a broader appreciation of India’s linguistic diversity and urged policymakers to view language learning as an asset rather than a cultural imposition.